I can't tell from the post whether this boat is sail or power but as a benchmark, my 5 ton, 30' sailboat will average 3.9kts using 1000W and 4.4kts using 1500W.
I would expect a 40' boat to have at least twice the displacement (requiring more power) and if a power cruiser, a less efficient hull (requiring even more power). Add in that non-tracking panels collect less energy like Carter said, and their claim seems unlikely. Depending on the current and wind, they might have actually gone 4kts with only solar power, but turn around and the numbers would probably change for the worse.
Fair winds
Eric
Marina del Rey, CA
--- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, Carter Quillen wrote:
>
> Sounds like they might have been exaggerating just a little but maybe they have an uber efficient system. Perhaps at a certain time of day for a little while but a big problem is going to be partial shading. Just one little patch of shade on your panel and it pretty much knocks the whole thing out. This is problematic for sailing rigs with solar.
>
> Also, as soon as the sun is coming in at anything less than a normal, (perpendicular), angle, output from the solar panel drops significantly.
>
> From: don cavers
> To: No Reply notify-dg-electricboats@yahoogroups.comelectricboats@yahoogroups.com" electricboats@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 3:08 PM
> Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] Digest Number 3352
>
>
> I was just at the Vancouver Boat Show and they had a production 40' "eco" cruiser. It had 1400 watts of panels on the cabin top and claimed 4 knots without drawing down the batteries.
> Don
>
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